At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, project manager Jeff Freeman of Engineering Enterprises Inc. congratulated St. Charles for the facility and noted it came in about $1 million below budget.

John Lamb, the city’s environmental services manager, told the City Council the facility is working well for the city, improving water quality and efficiency.

“It is a real honor to receive these awards,” Lamb said.

“The residents are really the winners here,” Mayor Don DeWitte said.

In other news, finance director Chris Minick provided the Government Operations Committee with the financial results for December.

“I’m happy to report there’s not a lot of surprises,” Minick said.

The general fund is projected to end the fiscal year with a surplus of $288,609, compared to a projected deficit of nearly $725,000 when the budget was approved.

The city’s largest revenue source – sales and use tax – is trending about 4 percent lower than projections. Other revenue – including hotel, telecommunications and alcohol taxes – are trending above expectations.

“Although sales tax revenues are currently short of budget projections for the fiscal year, the increasing trend in this revenue source is encouraging,” Minick said in his written report. “Year-to-date sales tax receipts are $339,868 or 3.6 percent higher than last fiscal year-to-date receipts.”

Expenditures are about 5.1 percent below budget.

Other highlights:

• The electric fund is projected to have an operating surplus of about $500,000. A $2.7 million deficit was anticipated when the budget was approved.

• The water fund is on track to end with a $785,192 deficit. A $1 million deficit originally was expected.